Annual study says Missouri’s business climate has improved

Missouri has jumped nine spots to 22nd in CNBC’s “Best States For Business” study. State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, tells Cape Girardeau radio station KZIM that her Right to Work legislation passed this year has been an economic boost. Right to Work prohibits employers from requiring union fees.

State Rep. Holly Rehder speaks on the Missouri House floor (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications}

“We have many years of excellent statistics showing how Right to Work has helped other states, so it’s not like we were re-inventing the wheel or doing something dangerous,” says Rehder. “This is something that has proven pro-growth in many states. In these other states, that’s why they have gained membership is because the union surge really started working to keep those members and with a lot of jobs coming in, then they have the opportunity to grow their membership.”

In the economy category, the CNBC study moves Missouri from 34th in 2016 to 18th this year.

“Governor Greitens has really focused on business, which is what we have to have to improve our economy. That’s what our problem is. Our economy. That’s what we must focus on,” says Rehder.

Opponents of Right to Work legislation say it weakens unions and leads to lower worker pay and fewer union members.

CNBC’s study grades the states based on the qualities they deem most important in attracting business. It assigns a weight to each of 10 categories by analyzing every state’s economic development marketing materials. The more the states cite a particular category as a selling point, the more weight that category carries. For example, if more states are talking about their workforce, the Workforce category carries more possible points.